Availability of Melinex 401 - 50 Micron.
Where possible PEL has always chosen Dupont Melinex 401 for our archival polyester products. Melinex 401 was produced in Luxembourg, but early in 2023, Oxxynova who supply one of the key chemicals for polyester production, closed its facility due to rising energy costs. The lines in Luxembourg cannot run without this chemical so production there was forced to close.
Fortunately, Dupont have another plant in Dumfries (Scotland) which produces polyester with a different process and production was moved there. The facility's reduced capacity means that some thicknesses of material have been discontinued, one of which is 50 Micron Melinex. While there are still stocks of 50 micron at distributors and resellers these will eventually dwindle and run out.
PEL still has stock of Melinex 401 – 50 micron but as we run out we will switch to other suppliers. Regular users of this material may notice some minor changes. Samples available on request.
There are no supply issues with Melinex 401 – 75 Micron.
The films division of Dupont (which produces Melinex) was purchased by the Swiss company Celanese in late 2022. They are still using the Dupont brand names to market the films but we may see some name changes in the future.
Micron to Mil (thousandth of an inch) for archival polyester rolls
12 Micron = 0.5 Mil
36 Micron = 1.4 Mil
50 Micron = 2 Mil
75 Micron = 3 Mil
100 Micron = 4 Mil
125 Micron = 5 Mil